Jaguars apps

A snapshot look at the Jaguars as they finish preparations for Sunday’s game at Tennessee:

Pressing question

What role changes will the Jaguars reveal after the bye week?

After practice Friday, coach Gus Bradley laid out some of the adjustments: Cornerback Dwayne Gratz is back as a starter, replacing Will Blackmon. At free safety, Winston Guy will split snaps with Josh Evans, and Jordan Todman and Stephen Burton could both return kickoffs.

Gratz was a starter when he sustained a right ankle sprain against Kansas City and missed five games. He returned against San Diego and San Francisco in a reserve role (47 combined snaps). Alan Ball will remain a starter, and Blackmon will also get playing time.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to prove myself to our coaches that I can play at this level and play well for a long time,” Gratz said.

Guy has played only four snaps this year but worked with the first-team defense this week in practice.

“I feel like it’s a big chance,” he said. “Since I got here, I’ve been mentally preparing myself for any situation and I feel like [Bradley] trusts me to give me the opportunity to show what I can do.”

Evans hadn’t missed a play since replacing an injured Dwight Lowery in the second series of the Seattle game in Week 3. Evans will start against the Titans.

“The coaches told me, with the long season, they wanted to take a little bit off my body,” Evans said. “It will be pretty helpful for me.”

Burton handled kickoffs the first two games but has missed the last five games with a concussion. Todman bobbled or dropped three kickoffs against San Francisco.

Keep an eye

Receiver Cecil Shorts is back to being the Jaguars’ top passing game option following the suspension of Justin Blackmon.

When Blackmon sat out the first four games, Shorts caught 26 passes for 337 yards; in Blackmon’s four games, Shorts caught 20 passes for 228 yards (he missed all but three snaps of the Denver loss).

Shorts leads the Jaguars with 46 receptions for 546 yards, but has just one touchdown. According to STATS, Inc., he has been targeted 87 times (tied for fourth-most in the NFL) and has seven drops (tied for first).

Shorts wants to raise his level of play in the season’s second half, including more big plays — his 59-yard catch at Seattle in Week 3 is his only reception longer than 28 yards.

“Make more of the tough plays,” he said. “I think I’ve made some tough plays in each game, but there are some plays that come to mind that an elite receiver could have made.”

Receivers coach Jerry Sullivan agreed that Shorts has been a “little inconsistent.”

“I think he started off slow; he didn’t come down with as many big catches as he did previously,” Sullivan said. “But he can wear the hat [of a No. 1 option], and it isn’t too big for him.”

Shorts has watched video recently of Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson, among others, to glean an edge.

“Those two guys are in our division and then I watch guys like Calvin [Johnson], A.J. [Green] and Julio [Jones] because they do certain things an average player can’t do,” Shorts said. “I feel like, to get to that level, I have some work to do.”

Injury update

Left guard Will Rackley (concussion) and tight end Danny Noble (knee) did not practice Friday and are questionable vs. the Titans.

Rackley was injured against San Francisco Oct. 27 and practiced Monday and Wednesday before experiencing symptoms on Thursday. Bradley labeled Rackley a “game-time decision.”

Mike Brewster, who filled in for Rackley against Kansas City (25 snaps) and San Francisco (57 snaps) would start. He worked at center in practice for most of October, but took left guard reps this week in practice.

“Absolutely [it helped] because guard and center are two different worlds and getting those reps helps with getting your angles and depths right,” Brewster said.

Noble was promoted from the practice squad, then injured in an individual drill.